Kinect launches November 4; 360-exclusive Crytek game coming

The big news to come out of Microsoft's E3 keynote is that the much-rumored …

The first keynote of this year's E3 is over, and Microsoft has revealed quite a bit of new information. There was a new Xbox 360, of course, and we also got more details on both Kinect and its line-up of games. The company also outlined new features for Live, an exclusive deal with ESPN, and details for several upcoming games—including a previously unannounced exclusive from Crytek.

Here's everything you missed if you didn't catch the keynote.

Kinect

Of course, the biggest news to come out of Microsoft's keynote was additional details on Kinect, formerly known as Natal. The company demoed a number of games, most of which were outed yesterday. During the Kinectanimals demo, a young girl was able to call, pet, and play with a tiger cub, and Microsoft says that there will be over 40 animals available in the full game.

Kinect Sports, meanwhile, will offer up sports like soccer, javelin, ping pong, and boxing. The game was shown off with two players racing in a hurdles event, controlling the action by running on the spot and jumping over hurdles. The Kinect line also features Kinect Joy Ride, an impressive-looking kart racer that you control by holding your hands in front of you as if you are holding a steering wheel. Kinect Adventures is an action game that features 20 different adventures, including rafting and a platforming game that has you jumping to avoid obstacles and collect powerups.

In terms of third-party support, Ubisoft will be releasing a fitness game called Yourshape: Fitness Evolved, which tracks your body movements to ensure you're doing the exercises properly and features activities like combat training and yoga. Dance Central from Harmonix, meanwhile, will be a dance simulator in which players attempt to mimic the moves of on-screen characters. It features a mode that slows down the pace in order to help teach you the routine, and will let players download additional songs after the game launches.

Lucasarts' Star Wars game for Kinect.

Turn 10 also revealed that Forza 3 will be getting Kinect support next year, which will let you control the game without a controller and explore your vehicles in greater detail. You can walk around a car and touch parts of it to learn additional information, and you can even get in the cockpit and look around. How the update will be released—whether via a patch or some sort of DLC add-on—has yet to be revealed.

The games

As for non-Kinect games, there were several titles on show, though few that we didn't already know about. Call of Duty: Black Ops will be launching on November 9 and all of the map packs and add-ons that come after the game's release will launch first on the 360. Hideo Kojima was also on hand to show off Metal Gear Solid Rising, which features "cut at will" gameplay: players can slice foes into pieces in action scenes that look reminiscent of Ninja Gaiden.

Gears of War 3 was on display, and featured some impressively huge enemies, including a creature that can take over the body of a locust soldier, sprouting tentacles and shooting lasers, as well as a huge super locust. There's also a new mode called "beast"; we can expect more details on that later on in the show. Bungie, meanwhile, revealed that the upcoming Halo: Reach will feature space battles, letting you control spaceships for the first time in the series.

Also announced was Codename: Kingdom—a 360-exclusive from Crytek, the developers behind Crysis.

Xbox Live

As for Xbox Live, Microsoft will be expanding the service, making it available in every country where 360s are currently sold. Live will also be coming to Windows Phone 7, letting you take your friends, avatars, and achievements with you wherever you go. The service will also support Kinect, letting users video chat with their Windows Live Messenger friends. Kinect will track your movement and you can even do things like watch film trailers with whomever you're chatting with.

Kinect will let users video chat via Xbox Live.

For sports fans, Microsoft also announced an exclusive partnership with ESPN, which will give Gold subscribers access to over 3,500 sporting events both live and on demand—most in HD—at no additional cost. This will include the NBA, MLB, and soccer. Users will also have access to real-time polls and trivia while they're watching, and they can access ESPN.com as well.

In conclusion

Microsoft managed to cover quite a bit over the course of its keynote, detailing Kinect, outlining new features for Live, and revealing games aimed to appeal to both the casual and hardcore audiences. Expect more details when we get our hands on Kinect soon.